


Corruption

by GemmaRose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Gen, Genderfluid Lance (Voltron), Magic, Superheroes, Urban Fantasy, i guess?, it's an urban magic superhero au, magic superheroes, oh wow it's already a tag!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-01
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-13 15:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10516959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GemmaRose/pseuds/GemmaRose
Summary: Sometimes, all a failed hero can do is turn themself in.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this lovely art](https://hardlynotnever.tumblr.com/post/155017146170) by [hardlynotnever](https://hardlynotnever.tumblr.com) on tumblr. Also, a (slightly late) piece for [klangst week](http://klangst-week.tumblr.com), kinda?

Lance sat on the couch staring at the TV screen blankly, the reporter’s words washing over him without sinking in. There was Red, and there was Kuro, but- they weren’t fighting. Red was letting his flames catch and become true fire, rather than extinguishing them before they could damage anything. Kuro was fanning the flames with his winds, helping spread the fire faster. The camera’s microphone wasn’t picking it up, but Lance could practically hear them laughing. Kuro’s deep menacing chuckle, and Red’s quick, cruel bark of a laugh. He knew it was happening, he could see it on the screen right in front of him, but it didn’t make sense.

Red was a hero. Red wanted to bring Kuro down before the bastard destroyed their city in pursuit of whatever it was he was after. Red would never change his mind about either of those things. So why was he standing at Kuro’s side? Why was he spreading senseless destruction? Oh, who was he kidding, Lance knew why. The whole city knew why Kuro had been escalating his attacks as of late. It was because of Blue.

Lance’s stomach churned, and despite being alone in the apartment he bit down on one of his knuckles to muffle whatever sound had built up in his throat. Kuro had wanted Blue for his own partner, had wanted to steal her away from Red, had promised to treat her like a queen. With Blue out of the picture for so long, he must’ve decided that Red would do. Lance could picture it, Kuro pinning Red against a wall and whispering promises in his ear, plans to bring Blue back into the battle, plans to make sure she would never leave again.

This was all Blue’s fault. All Lance’s fault. If he hadn’t quit, hadn’t run away and abandoned her partner like a fucking coward, then maybe Red would still be a hero. If she hadn’t gotten caught that night, maybe by now they would’ve taken Kuro down for good. If she hadn’t lashed out at Red, had just taken the scolding and explained herself like a goddamn adult, maybe- maybe they would still be friends. He didn’t even know who Red was under the mask, but he thought they’d been friends. Thought they had bonded at least a little, between saving people and post-battle selfies and the careless, easy banter they exchanged in the odd moments where things weren’t hectic as all get-out.

The fire on TV had spread to the whole block. People were dying. Kuro and Red were fighting back to back, wind and fire forming a perfect shield that melted bullets and flung them back out at the cops who fired them. They were a good team, a better one than Red and Blue had ever been. And Red seemed so _happy_ to be fighting with Kuro instead of againt him. He dodged baton swipes with acrobatic flips when an officer charged through the flame wall to take a swing at him. Did a brief handstand on Kuro’s shoulders when the man lunged at him. Spun in mid-air when he pushed off and landed on the officer’s back with a gymnast’s precision and flair. He looked like he was having fun, for once. He’d never fought like that when he was Blue’s partner.

Lance could feel the echo of his mask’s call, despite it being too far away to reach him. The compulsion to put it on and become The Blue Lion once more, to go fight her enemy and her former partner, it was faint but there. Lance squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forehead against his knees. He _couldn’t_. He couldn’t beat either of them in a fight, and if she tried to face them as a team she would lose. She would lose, and he would lose his mask, and he didn’t want to find out if Kuro had meant everything he said that last night Blue patrolled the city.

Firefighters were arriving, but their hoses were ineffectual and soon their trucks were exploding under an onslaught of flames and razor-sharp blasts of wind. Only one person could stop this, and Lance didn’t doubt that Red knew it. Maybe- maybe if he gave himself up, it would stop. It wasn’t like he had anything left to lose. He was already living without his mask, if his current state could really be called living. Surely, letting Kuro have what he wanted would at least give him a reason to keep getting up in the morning. Hell, maybe he’d even like it. Being wanted sounded like a nice change of pace.

He stood from the couch robotically, not bothering to head into his room to change out of the PJs he’d been wearing for the past few days. He stuffed his feet in a pair of sandals, grabbed the first hoodie he touched from next to the door, and left with empty pockets. It wasn’t far to the place where the masks were hidden, and when he arrived Lance found Blue’s mask on the floor where he’d thrown it. It was heavy in his hand, disproportionately so for its size, and he wondered if it could sense his intentions. One last transformation. One last run as his city’s smug and sassy heroine. It probably wouldn’t be worn again after this. Lance put the mask on, and felt his clothes warp into Blue’s costume.

The fire wasn’t far at all at flying speed, and with the sun going down it was doubly easy to spot, a pillar of dark smoke underlit by brilliant red and gold flames. Her powers felt sluggish, unresponsive, but Blue just pushed harder until jets of ice shot from her hands. She circled the block as fast as she could, building the thickest ice wall she’d attempted in a long while, until the fire was sealed inside a frosted, lumpy dome.

“You wanted me. I’m here.” she announced to the rooftop across the street, where Red and Kuro stood side by side. Kuro was smiling, and Red’s expression was, as always, hidden by the bandana which covered the lower half of his face.

“And in top form, too.” Kuro said, striding forwards. Blue willed ice out through the soles of her shoes, refreshing the dome she stood on as the now suffocating fire within made parts of it melt. Kuro didn’t simply glide or soar through the air, he walked. As if there was a solid floor beneath his feet and he was simply strolling across it. Red just jumped across the street, coming to a hovering halt at Kuro’s shoulder. The eyes of his mask glowed purple, matching his new partner’s, and Blue felt her stomach twist.

“If I give myself up, will you stop?” she asked, looking from Red to Kuro and back to Red. Her partner, the only one who really knew her in the mask. He wouldn’t let Kuro do the things he’d threatened, right? Wouldn’t let their enemy have her, if she told Kuro no. But maybe... maybe she would be okay with belonging to him. If she had to belong to anybody, she’d prefer it to be someone she could trust. And she did trust him, even after everything. It was stupid, pathetic, but if he asked her deepest darkest secret right now she would tell him without hesitation. Okay, maybe not in front of Kuro, but she still trusted him with her life and more.

“Of course.” Red answered without missing a beat. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just-”

“I won’t.” Kuro said, his deep, mask-doubled voice making Blue shudder. “But I’ll try to avoid casualties, whenever possbile.”

It was the best she would get. Blue kicked off into the sky, and landed in a dirty, grafitti-covered alley a few dozen blocks away from any kind of media or law enforcement. Red landed behind her, and Blue let him lead her back to the building where she’d almost lost her powers the first time. The ropes were gone, but the cloaked woman was there. Blue reached up, and she felt whatever resided in her mask screaming at her not to do this but she had no other choice. She removed the mask, and Lance shivered as his costume melted away into his ratty T-shirt and stained, faded pajama pants and a worn-thin hoodie so big on him it had to be Hunk’s. He’d have to go back to their apartment and return it some time. He heard two sharp gasps, and a second later a bare hand was gripping his shoulder, turning him around to see-

“Keith?” Lance frowned, eyes darting down to his coworker’s other hand. It held Red’s mask. Oh. Well now he felt like an even bigger idiot. What kind of moron didn’t realize that their metaphorically hot coworker was also their literally hot hero partner?

“Lance, I-” Keith’s mouth opened and closed a few times, and Lance smiled as the mask was pressed back onto his face, activating enough to bind with the skin but not enough to manifest the costume. “I’m so sorry.”

“Me too, Keith.” Blue grinned as the magic began to drain from her mask, golden eyes dimming with every passing heartbeat. “Me too.”


End file.
